Why is Trump so unpopular?

Pat Cunningham

Monday

Aug 7, 2017 at 6:19 PM

Today is the 200th day of Donald Trump's presidency, a good occasion to raise a few questions about the man's lack of popularity among the American people. No other modern president has had lower approval ratings at such an early stage of his time in office. The long and the short of it is […]

Today is the 200th day of Donald Trump's presidency, a good occasion to raise a few questions about the man's lack of popularity among the American people.

No other modern president has had lower approval ratings at such an early stage of his time in office. The long and the short of it is that Americans generally don't like this guy. His poll numbers have been under water since before his inauguration.

Why is this?

Well, I have a theory, and it stems from what I said in my post this past Friday about Trump's pathological dishonesty.

A recent Quinnipiac poll shows that 62 percent of Americans think Trump is a liar. That's a huge number, especially for someone who was elected president just last fall. And it represents the feelings of Democrats, Republicans and independents alike. It reflects an increasing familiarity among Americans with the man's mendacity.

We've almost reached the point where most Americans figure their president is uttering falsehoods if his lips are moving.

Trump's reputation for dishonesty has been growing for years. Remember when he said he had good evidence that Barack Obama was not born in America and therefore was ineligible to serve as president? That nonsense worked in Trump's favor for quite a while, mainly because there were so many people who hated Obama for one reason or another — especially his race.

Even when Trump finally conceded that Obama was American-born, he did so grudgingly — almost with a wink-wink to his fellow bigots.

Of course, there's not enough time remaining in Trump's life for him to take back all the blatant falsehoods he's peddled — even if he lives to be 100. As I said in my post of this past Friday, the man's dishonesty is pathological. He can't help himself. He probably lies even to himself.

The Quinnipiac poll indicates that Americans generally are well aware of this flaw in Trump's character. It's an impression that's almost impossible to erase from the public mind.

For that reason, among others, it's downright silly to speculate on whether Trump might win a second term in the 2020 election. It ain't gonna happen.

There's better reason to wonder if Trump will be able to finish the term to which he was elected last fall.